Electronic devices with display screens may use backlight to help illuminate the display. Backlight refers to light originating from the back or from the sides of a display screen. Devices with backlight, especially portable devices with power management features, may also have a backlight control feature to adjust the backlight.
Automatic backlight control allows a device to automatically adjust backlight when changes in ambient light are detected by a light sensor. For example, backlight intensity may be increased to retain readability in a brighter ambient light environment, while backlight intensity may be decreased to minimize power consumption in a darker ambient light environment.
Backlight is adjusted according to backlight settings that map ambient light values to backlight intensities. These backlight settings are usually stored in firmware (where storage is limited) and updated at the time of manufacturing. This makes it difficult for anyone but the device's integrator to add backlight settings. An integrator is someone who assembles parts (e.g., processor, graphics card, display, etc.) together into one device before selling the device to a user. Once the device is sold to a user, backlight settings for the device typically cannot be updated by the user, who may not have the understanding, motivation, or patience for selecting an optimal settings list, especially when personal preferences or personal usage patterns change sufficiently to warrant an ongoing need to alter stored settings.
Unfortunately, integrators are forced to guess what the best backlight settings are based on personal experience or average user statistics. Such settings may reflect neither actual user preferences nor optimal power management for a device and could potentially become stale (i.e. never used for the particular user's usage pattern). Systems and methods are needed to intelligently enhance and personalize automatic backlight control schemes.
Features, elements, and aspects of the invention that are referenced by the same numerals in different figures represent the same equivalent, or similar features, elements, or aspects, in accordance with one or more embodiments.